Bittrex Takes Out XRP Markets from Its Platforms Following SEC Suit

Ripple Labs’ troubles with its XRP token continues to mount, with the blockchain company gearing up for a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Following the agency launching a case against Ripple Labs, several top industry names have strategically cut ties with both the company and its token.

Bittrex Cuts Bait

The latest in a string of abandonments comes from top crypto exchange Bittrex. The exchange said it would remove all XRP markets and stop asset-related activity from January 15, 2021. The affected trading pairs include BTC/XRP, USD/XRP, USDT/XRP, and ETH/XRP.

Bittrex customers can still access their wallets after the delisting of XRP markets. However, there is no timeline for the reinstatement of the markets.

The delisting follows a lawsuit from the SEC filed against Ripple last week. In a filing with a Manhattan federal court, the financial regulator accused Ripple of offering unregistered securities via its XRP token. The SEC also accused Ripple’s chief executive and co-founder – Brad Garlinghouse and Christ Larsen – of failing to report personal XRP sales totaling over $600 million.

While Ripple and its top brass remain committed to fighting this case, support from the crypto space has been non-existent. Bittrex’s delisting comes as no surprise.

Lack of Support for Ripple Bleeds XRP

The Nevada-based exchange is joining the increasing list of crypto firms to abandon XRP amid Ripple’s legal fight with the SEC. Earlier this week, Coinbase made a similar announcement, explaining that it would cut XRP from its platform as from January 19.

As reported by Inside Bitcoins, Coinbase explained that the trading suspension could come earlier than the planned date, depending on new developments in Ripple’s SEC case. Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer at the San Francisco-based exchanges, said:

“The trading suspension will not affect customers’ access to XRP wallets which will remain available for deposit and withdraw functionality after the trading suspension. We will continue to support XRP on Coinbase Custody and Coinbase Wallet.”

Other exchanges to delist XRP include Chicago-based Beaxy, New York-based CrossTower, and Hong Kong-based OSL.

Along with exchanges, investment firms have also distanced themselves from the fourth-largest digital asset. Currently, the web portal for the XRP Investment Trust on Grayscale investments shows that all deposits have been closed. A Twitter user recently posited that the asset management firm would stop accepting new subscriptions to the investment trust and cease processing existing subscriptions.

Bitwise Asset Management also announced last week that it would liquidate all XRP holdings in its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund. 

With XRP becoming more radioactive by the day, the asset’s allure is eroding as well. The asset’s price has dropped by over 100 percent since the SEC case was unveiled, and there is always the possibility of worse drops over time.